SPEAKER_00: Hey y'all, I'm Erin Haynes. I'm the editor-at-large for The 19th News, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics, and policy. I'm also the host of a brand new weekly podcast from
The 19th News and Wonder Media Network called The Amendment. Each week, we're bringing you
a conversation about gender, politics, and the unfinished work of American democracy.
Our very first episode features my dear friend and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Nikole Hannah-Jones. It's out now, so please go listen and follow the show. On top of all
of this, I'm your guest host for this month of Wamanica.
This Black History Month, we're talking about revolutionaries, the Black women who led struggles for liberation from violent governments, colonial rulers, and enslavers. These women had the
courage to imagine radically different worlds, and they used their power to try and pull those worlds into view.
Today, we're talking about a woman who was a beacon of hope for her people. She took
a stand against ruthless oppressors and unforgiving governments to protect the next generation.
Let's talk about Agweal Shute Dang.
Agweal was born in southern Sudan in 1964 to a middle-class, multi-faith family. Agweal
was a tenacious child. As a young girl, she wore a cross that her uncle had given her
to her school where Islam was a required subject. When the teacher told her to take it off,
she refused. Her punishment was six cane lashings and a call to her father. Instead of teaching
her to obey authority blindly, he supported her and told her she didn't have to take
it off.
Agweal was her father's favorite. He saw her passion for Sudanese history and did everything
he could to cultivate it. A doctor himself, he believed his daughter should be educated,
though most girls Agweal's age didn't go to school.
Agweal grew up surrounded by family, eating, laughing, and enjoying each other's company.
But these happy times were also defined by her father's ominous warnings that a war was coming.
To Agweal, a war seemed impossible. But her father was right. And as soon as the Second
Sudanese Civil War broke out in 1983, he was killed.
1983 marked the beginning of a 22-year conflict between the central government and the Sudan
People's Liberation Army, or the SPLA. Agweal saw millions of people killed and displaced.
She saw the brutal and violent oppression of those in power. And she knew she could
not stand idly by as the country and people she loved crumbled.
So Agweal joined the SPLA. Women recruits were often ridiculed, but Agweal quickly proved
herself through her medical and nursing skills she'd picked up from her father.
Agweal joined the SPLA's all-women battalion. There, she and the other women taught themselves
how to fight. She also earned the title of Comrade Dang, a title often reserved for men.
Agweal led a group of people, most of them children, into the forest to hide and escape the violence. Under Agweal's leadership, this group survived months of enemy threats,
land mines, and inhospitable terrain.
Agweal's main focus was always on the nation's children. By properly educating them, she
believed, they could prevent history from repeating itself. They were the keys to the
future. When she heard about a refugee camp across the Ethiopian border, she decided this
would be the best option for the safety and education of these children.
Unfortunately, conditions were dismal. Unable to support its 200,000 refugees, the camp
rarely had enough supplies to go around. Agweal herself was worse for wear. One day,
she felt a shooting pain in her leg. She was unable to walk. Agweal lost track of her group,
and by the time she recovered, many were missing. She was eventually able to locate 12 of the
22 children she had cared for before her ailment. Agweal occasionally returned to southern Sudan
to support the rebels in their fight against the government. But she was also building
a life for herself at the camp, selling home-brewed beer and goods from Ethiopia's capital. Her
entrepreneurial spirit inspired other women to do the same.
In 1996, Agweal and her family were granted asylum in Australia, thanks to sponsorship
from an NGO that she had worked with previously. They were one of the first Sudanese families
in Toowoomba, where they settled. Agweal was a single mother starting over in
a completely foreign country. She enrolled at the University of Southern Queensland and
studied English and community development. As her English improved, Agweal began educating
the Australian public on the Sudanese war and the human rights violations occurring
in her home country. Agweal continued her work in Canberra, Australia's
capital city. Agweal used her relocation to lobby for peace in Sudan with the help
of other countries and to persuade the Australian government to accept more refugees. In 2000,
she helped found the Sudanese-Australian International Activist Group. Their goal was to help Sudanese
refugees integrate while also still promoting Sudanese culture. Knowing how difficult it
is to start over in a new place, Agweal committed herself to helping refugees get set up. She
sponsored them, offered translation and interpretation services, assisted them with Social Security
and health insurance, drove them to appointments, and helped them find work.
When the civil war ended in 2005, Agweal was a vocal supporter of the Sudan People's Liberation
Movement. She educated others about the details of the agreement that ended the war, including
the creation of South Sudan as an independent nation in 2011. As the new nation found its
footing, Agweal helped it develop a referendum voting system.
On April 26, 2022, Agweal left home and never returned. During her disappearance, her son
posted fliers about his missing mother around Queensland. Strangers frequently came up to
him to tell him they knew her. Her work had touched the lives of many.
On April 30, police found her body. She was laid to rest in South Sudan's Heroes Cemetery.
In a statement following her passing, the President of South Sudan said Agweal would
always be a pivotal personality in the history of our liberation.
All month, we're talking about revolutionaries. For more information, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanaka Podcast. Special thanks to co-creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan for having me as a guest host. Talk to you tomorrow.
